Pulau Sipadan gazetted to enhance conservation
SEMPORNA: Pulau Sipadan, touted as the world’s top 10 best diving sites, boasts for breathtaking marine beauty showcased in crystal clear waters.
However, human activities there since 1983 when the first resort was opened by Syarikat Borneo Divers & Sea Sdn Bhd was a cause for concern. Moreover, since then more resorts appeared on the island.
Hence, in 2004 the authorities relocated the resorts to nearby islands to conserve coral reefs there.
In addition to that, divers were also required to obtain permits to explore Pulau Sipadan’s diving sites and their numbers are limited to 120 per day.
Marine preservation efforts were further intensified by gazetting 13.5 hectares of land in 2009, with another 6,846.5 hectares of coral reef surrounding the island was gazetted as a protected park in July 2015.
With 16,860 hectares gazetted as a protected park under the Sabah Parks Enactment 1984, enforcement and monitoring could be carried out more effectively in protecting the island’s natural heritage.
Sabah Parks (TTS) director Dr Jamili Nais believes that the responsibility entrusted to them can be fulfilled through cooperation and commited teamwork, in line with the Sabah Parks Strategic Plan 2025.
Success requires commitment, teamwork and support not only from the conservation-based statutory body, but also from the government, non-governmental organisations and the public.
Ever since resort operations ceased on the island, the quality of coral reefs in the waters of Pulau Sipadan have improved tremendously.
“During our surveillance, however, we found minor damage to coral reefs due to scuba diving,” he said sadly.
In line with gazetting Pulau Sipadan as a protected park, Sabah Parks appointed dive marshals to monitor scuba diving activities and boat movement in the area.
Jamili described the role of the dive marshals as the start of a
surveillance mechanisme not only at Pulau Sipadan Park, but extended to other marine parks in the country.
It is also important for ethical scuba activities and to curb any misconduct towards the park’s ecosystem.
Four dive marshals have been appointed to oversee scuba activities in 12 diving locations on the island.
Meanwhile, dive marshal Arthur Severinus starts his day monitoring diving activities as early as 6.00 am.
“We also monitor boats to ensure they carry only diving equipment and not fishing equipment,” he said.
Any unethical conduct, he added, would be reported to Sabah Parks rangers for action.
For Sabah Parks Board of Trustees chairman Datuk Seri Tengku Zainal Adlin Tengku Mahamood, the gazetting of Pulau Sipadan means the island would continue being the pride of Sabah.
He pointed out the role of dive marshals was vital in ensuring ethical conduct in scuba diving activities.
Pulau Sipadan, which gained international fame through Jacques Cousteau’s film Ghost of the Sea Turtles, was declared by the British as a bird sanctuary in 1933.
It also became part of a turtle egg native reserve of Sabah in 1964 to protect the endangered species.
In 1996, tropical storm Greg damaged the island’s coral reefs and was not able to fully recover due to global warming and increased water temperatures, which then led to coral bleaching in 1998.
Following signs of threat to the island’s natural beauty, the government gazetted Pulau Sipadan as a protected area in 1997 under the Protected Areas And Protected Places Act 1959. A quota on the number of tourists visiting the island was also announced, however, it lacked enforcement.
In 2000, Pulau Sipadan made headlines when Abu Sayyaf guerrillas kidnapped 21 tourists, including resort staff, and held them hostage in the southern Philippines for months before releasing them.
Eyes were also on the island when it became the focus of a territorial ownership dispute between Malaysia and Indonesia. In 2002, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Pulau Sipadan as a part of Malaysia.
Based on studies conducted by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and non-governmental organisations in 2004, a joint committee took the drastic decision to relocate resorts from the island on the grounds of environmental preservation and protection. Bernama